Adjustable stop for controlling breech mechanisms of automatic or semi-automatic guns.



No. 665,198. I Patented Ian. I,"I90|. A. W. ERDMAN. 1 ADJUSTABLE STOP' FDR CONTROLLING BREECH MECHANISMS OF AUTOMATIC 0R SEMI-AUTOMATIC GUNS., I

(Application filed ct. 18 1900 (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet l.

awn/now P atentd Jan. I, 190v.

. A. W. ERDMAN. ADJUSTABLE STOP FOR CONTROLLING BREEGHMECHANISMS OF AUTOMATIC 0R SEMI-AUTOMATIC suius'.

(Application filed Oct. 13, 19UO.| (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

I gum/who v alien WW it appertainslto make and use the same.

. UNIT D STATES ATENT FFlCE-a ALBERT W. ERDMAN, OF DERBY, CONNECTIOU SEABURY GUN AND AMMUNITION COMPANY,

or Nn'w'YoRK, N. Y.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 665,198, dated J anuary 1, 1901.

Application filed October 13,1900. Serial No. 32,974. (No model.)

To all whom it rim/y concern: Be it known that I, ALBERT W. ERDMAN, a

citizen of theUn1ted States,residing at Derby, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable- Stops for Controlling the Breech Mechanism of Automatic r Semi-Automatic Guns; and I do here y and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which My invention relates to improvements in mechanism for operatin g the breech-closure of. automatic or semi-automatic guns; and it es.- pecially relates to guns of that class in which the breech-closure is controlled by the action of a vibrating lever carried by or moving with the gun during the recoil and'cou'nter-recoil.

This'invention relates more particularly to an adjustable cammingdevice adapted to engage the breech-operating lever on counterrecoil, but to yield'to the said lever during the recoil of the gun. I

The invention is especially applicable to guns of the type shown in the patent to William H. Driggs and Vernon O; Tasker, No. 625,326, granted May't23, 1899, and reference maybe made to this patent for the various operative parts of the gun therein shown, but

which do not form a part of my present invention, and hence are not shown herein.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which the same parts are indicated by the same views.

Figure l is an elevation of part of the gun and slide of a recoile mount, such as that shown in the patent aforesaid, the gun being broken away to show the right-hand side of the slide. Fig. 2 represents a section along the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 represents a section along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and looking down. Fig. lis a detail view of the fixed member of the cam, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the yielding member of the cam, which letters throughout the severa'l two members together operate the breech mechanism on counter-recoil.

-' A represents the gun proper, which is provided with dovetail ribs 0.,

declare the following to bee. full, clear,

' keep. the handlever C engaging in the T, ASSIGNOR TO THE DRIGGS- guideways b of the slide 13, which slide is' .trunni0ned on the gun-mount in the usual well-known way and need not be further described herein. The gun-bo'dy or jacket on the same projects downward at A and terminates in a bearing A for the operatingshaft 0,; which operates'the breech mechanism, which latter not being a part of my in-- vention is not shown. This shaft carries a hand levei O' for operating by hand, and'also the arm 0 with log a, for

operating automatically or'semi-automatically, as will be hereinafter described. The

-rod D is u'ndertension of a spring (indicated at D) and fully described .in the patent to Driggs and Tasker aforesaid and tends to breech-block in a closed position,except when operated either by'h'and or by the automatic attachment hereinafter described.

Between two downwardly-projecting arms B attached to orintegral with the slide B,

the cam-plate E is pivoted, as on the bolt F. This cam-plate is normally pressed inward toward the axis of the gun by means of the spring M. This cam-plate is perforated, as-

at E (see Fig. 5,) to receive the fixed cam H, (see Fig. 4,) which is secured to or integral with the plate H, which latter plate is secured to the slide spanning the arms B "The cam H has a fiat upper surface h, a curved engaging surface It", and a. rounded releasingsurface 7?. The pivoted cam E has a camsurface e, flat face e', shoulders 6 and a locking-face e On the back of the pivoted cam E,I provide arms o between which the bell crank lever K is pivoted, as on the pin L. The arm it of this bell-crank lever Kengages the lug h on the plate H whenthe bell-crank lever is swung up or tothe right, (see Fig. 2,) and thus the cam-plateE may be swung about its pivot to clear the lug 0 when the gun is to be operated by hand and not automatically or semi-automatically. When set for automatic or semi-automatic firing, the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Now suppose the gun to be fired. It will recoil in its slide, causing the lug c to engage the cam-face e and to press the cam-plate E back out of the way against the action of thespring M. The

to the left, with the lug. Q will at-the same time pass over the flat 6o the mechanism face 7L of the fixed cam H. As soon as the lug 0 passes in rear of the shoulder e of the movable cam ll the latter will swing out again under the influence ot the sprirn 'M, meanwhile the gun continuing its recoil to the rear. At theend of its recoil the gun is forced forward again by the recoil-spring, the lever C meantime retaining the position shown in Fig. '1 until the lug (f strikes the shoulder a of the cam-plate and the shoulder G and shaft 0 are rotated, the gun continuing its onward movement toils initial or firii'ig position. As the a rm continues to swing backward the lug 0 would have a tendency to press the camplate l'l ()lli'flit l'tl and free itself before the breech w entirely open; but this lug after traveling a short distance down on the shoulder e passes on to the curved face [L2 of the II, and moving down this 'face it passes beneath the releasing-face 71?, allowing the breech mechanism to return to the initial or closed position unless some independent stop be put in to prevent this. Such a-stop is generally supplied in the extractor mechanism, as is well known in the art and as is shown, for instance, in the patentto Driggs and Tasker aforesaid; but this not being a part of my present invention need not be dis cussed herein.

iVhen the parts are set for automatic or semi-automatic firing, if it open the breach by hand, as byswinging the hand-lever to the right, as in Fig. l, the lugc will strike on the face c of the cam E and it will be impossible to openthe. breech byhandunless the bell-crank lever K is turned up and the cam-plate E is thus thrown out of en gagement. \Vhen this is done, the gun may be operated by hand in the ordinary way.

While for convenience of description I have shown this invention as applied to a gun.

mount of the type shown in the patent to Driggs and Tasker' aforesaid, I do not mean to confine myself to the details of that particular mount or of any particular mount or of any particular breech-closure, the invention being applicable to almost any of the types of breech-closures in which the breechblock is moved by an oscillatinglever and in which it is desired to automatically operate that lever on the counter-recoil of the gun.

Having thusdescribed my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is I 1. In a gun, the combination with a vibrating arm and breech mechanism operated thereby, of a stop engaging said arm consisting of a fixed member and a yielding member, the arm first engaging the yielding mem ber of said stop, and then passing on to the fixed member, substantially as described.

2. In a gun, the combination with a vibrating arm and breech mechanism. operated thereby, of a stop engaging said arm consisting 0f-a fixed cam and ayielding cam, the arm first engaging the yielding cam of, said he attempted to stop, and then passing on to the fixed cam,

substantially as described.

3. In a gun, the combination with a rockshaft and breech mechanism operated thereby, of an arm on said shaft and a stop engaging said arm consisting of a fixed member and a yielding member, the arm first engaging the yielding member of said stop, and then passing on to the fixed member, substantially as described.

at. In a gun, the combination with a rock shaft and breech mechanism operated thereby, of an arm on saidshaftand a stop engaging said arm consisting of a fixed member and a yielding member, the arm first" engaging the yielding member of'said stop, and then passing on to the fixed member, with a spring for restoring the yielding member to the initialposition, substantially as de-' scribed.

' 5. In a gun, the combination with a rockshaft' o iiera-ting the breech mechanism and a spring-constrainedarin on said rock-shaft normally holding the breech mechanism in the closed position, of a second arm on said rock-shaft, and a stop for said second arm consisting of'a fixed member and a yielding member, substantially as described. 6. In a gun, the combination with a rockshaft for operating the breech mechanism and a spring-constrained arm on said rock-shaft normally holding'the breech mechanism in the closed position, of a second arm on said rock-shaft,

member," and means for throwing said yielding member into and out ofengagement with said second arm, substantially as described.

7. In a gun, the combination with a rock shaft carried by the gun-body and operating the breech mechanism and a spring-constrained arm on said rock-shaft for holding, the breech mechanism normally in the'closed position, of a second arm on said roclcshaft,

, ind a stop for said second arm secured to the gun-mount and consisting of a fixed member and a yielding scribed. v

8. In a gun, the combination Witha rockshaft carried by the. gun-body and operating the breech mechanism, and a spring-constrained arm on said rock-shaft holding the breech mechanism normally in the closed position', of a second arm on said rock-shaft,- and a stop for said second arm secured to the gun-mount and consisting of a fixed member and a yielding member, and means for throwing said yielding member into and out of enmember, substantially as degagement With said second arm, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my, signature in presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT \V. ERDMAN. WVitnesses:

HELEN E. BAILEY, EDWIN 1;. Mon.

and a stop for said second arm consisting of a fixed member and a yielding 

